Last year I hiked the Anza-Borrego section of the Desert Trail. Despite dealing with a serious infestation of thorny brush in Carrizo Gorge, I liked it a lot. Deserts appeal to me. They are lands stripped down to the essential. They are open and free. I feel at home in those landscapes.
So naturally I wanted to continue on with more of the DT this year. My plan was to skip the section that is just a roadwalk around the Salton Sea. Instead I would begin in the Mecca Hills north of the Salton, and end where the trail crosses Interstate 40, some 150 miles further on.
The DT differs from other long trails in several ways. First of all, it is not a trail, but a route. That is, it is just a set of directions for heading north through the California desert, one that does pass through interesting country and doesn’t dead-end in box canyons or cliffs. Second, there are few places to resupply. Whereas a trail like the PCT or Colorado Trail goes near a town every few days, there are few such stops on the DT. And third, what goes for towns goes double for water. There are only two reliable water sources on my 150 mile route.
The upshot is that you have to cache water and food at road crossings. That’s what I did on March 7 before I began hiking on March 8.
I should also mention that there is little phone service along the trail. Consequently I was completely unaware of what was going on in the wider world–specifically with the country shutting down due to coronavirus. That’s why there is no mention of those developments in my journal, which begins below.
My route from the Mecca Hills through Joshua Tree up to I-40
Hitting the trail in Painted Canyon
I always feel nervous when starting hikes but was especially so as my tent and pack–two very essential items–are new to me. They are new models that I’m reviewing for Backpacking Light. Neither would be my first choice for this hike but they should do fine.
I was much more upset when I pulled my hiking pants out of my bag and discovered I had grabbed shorts rather than convertible long pants. I’m not too worried about my legs getting cold but I am worried about getting them bloodied when I encounter the inevitable catclaw hells.
But I encountered none today. I got an Uber all the way up the dirt road to the Painted Canyon TH, which gave me time to explore the slots of Ladder Canyon. The canyon is named after the ladders the BLM has thoughtfully placed at the dryfalls in the canyon.
Climbing the slots in Ladder Canyon
I went about a half mile up, walked through a cool slot and then returned to the pack I had hidden in the main canyon.
Painted Canyon has vertical walls of 80 ft and more but eventually levels out and opens up.
Going upstream the canyon keeps branching and I occasionally took the wrong branch but made it up onto a series of rolling ridges that featured views of Mounts San Jacinto and San Gorgonio to the west, and the Salton Sea to the south, with the Mecca badlands forming a foredrop. It’s the kind of hiking I like best.
Lord of the Desert, Mt. San Jacinto
The Salton Sea from the Mecca Hills
Up close, the Salton Sea is vile, but from a 1700 ft ridge it is spectacular.
Made it to my first cache in Box Canyon and discovered I had drunk only half the water I allotted for this first leg. I cut back the water for this next leg from 7.5 to 6.5 L. I probably could carry less but I hate being out of water, a legacy of growing up in the desert no doubt. As always, we carry our fears in our packs. But 6.5L of water weighs about 14lbs, so those are some pretty heavy fears.
And we also carry beers. Or at least one beer, the Coors tall boy I included in the cache.
I used my excess water to soak a bandanna, wrapped it around the can and it was pleasantly cool by the time I stopped at my campsite here in this broad sandy wash.
A fine first day all around, the first of many I hope.